The difference between clothes hangers and suit hangers is that suit hangers are designed to specifically preserve an expensive suit correctly while clothing hangers were designed to hold all types of clothes. Suit hangers are designed with sturdy materials, crease-free features, and embody a shape that can maintain the stiffness of a suit.

The clothes hanger was invented by O.A. North in 1869. He invented the clothes hanger and patented it with the description of a device with a hook on its top sitting on what resembles shoulder supports for clothing to the right and left of the hook. He named the first hanger a clothes hook.